Garden window



y 16, 1967 A. L. ANDREWS ETAL 3,319,378

GARDEN WINDOW Filed March 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ARTHUR LEAP/"ONT ANDREWS ATTORNEY y 16, 1967 A. L. ANDREWS ETAL 3,319,378

GARDEN WINDOW 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1966 1" 016) CE) 0J0 o o H INVENTORS. ARTHUR LEARMONT ANDREWS JOSEPH RICHARD ANGH/NETT/ ATTORNEY United States Patent 07 of Maine Filed Mar. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 531,456 3 Claims. (Cl. 4740) This invention relates to a garden window and, more particularly, to a garden window comprising a substantially rectangular frame, a transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble mounted on one side of said frame which seals the frame substantially completely on the side on which it is mounted, said distorted bubble extending downwardly and outwardly from the top of said frame at a slight angle for a short distance from the top, then extending downwardly at a sharp angle and outwardly at a very slight angle to a point opposite a point near the base of said frame, then curving bulbously back to the mounting at the base of the frame so as to form a well, capable of holding a quantity of water, said frame with mounted bubble being capable of being attached to the framework of a window of a building. Still further, this invention relates to a garden window of the type described hereinabove which has means for attaching to a window frame of a building so as to provide support for shelves, said shelves extending into the concave portion of the plastic bubble. Still further, this invention relates to a garden window of the class described which has venting means mounted on the frame.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a garden window of the class described herein which can be mounted on the casing of a window of a building so as to provide a place where plants may be positioned so as to provide said plants with solar radiation .and also to provide them with a source of moisture which can be located in the curved bulbous base of a transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble. A further object of the present invention is to provide a garden Window of the class described which is provided with means for attaching to a window frame of a building so as to provide support for shelves in which the shelves extend into the concave portion of the plastic bubble. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a garden window which has a venting means mounted on the frame of the garden window. These and other objects of the present invention will be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow.

For a further and more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE I is a top elevational view of the garden window partly in section.

FIGURE 11 is a side elevational view of the garden window partly in section.

FIGURE III is a rear elevational view of the garden Window partly in section.

In each of FIGURES I, II, and III, 1 is the frame which houses the transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble, 2. 3 provides the means which seals the bubble in the frame substantially completely on the edges of the frame on which the bubble is mounted. The support 4 is for shelves which extend into the concave portion of the plastic bubble, which support means is designed to be attached to a window frame of a building to which the garden window is to be mounted. The shelves 5 are mounted on the brackets 9, which brackets are, in turn, mounted on the support means 4 for the shelves.

In FIGURES II and III, the venting means 6 is composed of one or more slideable doors 8 mounted on the I PatentedMay 16, 1961 back of the venting means and provided with a plurality of apertures 10 which may be matched up with comparable apertures in the framework of the venting means so as to permit the passage of air therethrough.

In FIGURE II, there are louver blades 7 which permit the free circulation of air through the venting means when the slideable doors 8 on the rear of the venting means have their apertures in line with the apertures on the framework of the venting means. These louvers prevent drafts by forcing the air being circulated through the venting means to detour in its passage from the atmosphere to the room onto which the garden window is mounted.

Also, in FIGURE 11 there is a built-in water container at the base of the contour-distorted plastic bubble so as to provide a reservoir for water which in use will provide an enhanced measure of humidity in the garden window.

The transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble used as a component in the garden window of the present invention may be made from any one of a plurality of thermoplastic sheets such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and the like. The thickness of the plastic bubble may be /s", A or /8", or more, in thickness, and the entire bubble should be substantially rigid and shock resistant as well as shatter resistant and particularly resistant to falling elements such as hail stones.

In many buildings where double hung windows are used, standard sized windows are frequently and conventionally used. However, the garden windows of the present invention can be custom-made so as to be adapted to substantially any window frame of most windows in build-- ings, particularly, in homes.

The contour-distorted plastic bubble is mounted securely in the framework so as to be substantially moisture and air-tight. The venting means is preferably located at the top of the framework and superimposed above the mounting for the transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble.

The formed acrylic bubble is framed in any suiTable framing material such as aluminum or a wood perimeter frame using an aluminum shelf system onto which may be placed the potted plants. The unit is designed to be fastened to the exterior casing of wood window frames thus providing a weather-tight enclosure. Permanent removal of the window sash provides complete access to the enclosure from within the room, if desired.

There are at least three frame designs for the acrylic enclosure which may be used. One design is an all aluminum frame. The head member of this frame has a screened opening covered with an aluminum hood on the outside and fitted with a sliding aluminum door on the inside. The second design is a wood frame. The head member of this frame is fitted with a wood louver complete with a screen and a sliding plastic or wood door on the inside. The third frame design is also made of wood but the side members of this design contain wooden louvers fitted with screens and plastic or wood sliding doors.

The acrylic enclosure used in the garden window of the present invention provides a clean, uncluttered pleasing appearance. Unlike the prior art, the shelf system used in the present invention is mounted on the existing window frame and is independent of the enclosure and the enclosure frame. This system eliminates unnecessary stress on the acrylic enclosure and the enclosure frame and permits simple fastening of the frame to the window. The garden window enclosure of the present invention may also be installed on existing metal window frames. These designs can be utilized in ordinary homes or in conventional high-rise apartments. Still further, the garden window of the present invention may be apice plied to related products such as display enclosures and novel frame window designs for shops and stores.

The acrylic enclosure materials may have incorporated therein unltraviolet transmitting compounds, ultraviolet absorbing compounds, infrared absorbing compounds, and infrared reflecting compounds, many of which are commercially available and are well known in the art. If desired, ahe acrylic insulating enclosures may be fabricated with two acrylic skins separated by an air space to provide an insulating enclosure.

We claim:

1. A garden window comprising a substantially rectangular frame, a transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble mounted on one side of said frame which seals the frame substantially completely on the side on which it is mounted, said distorted bubble extending downwardly and outwardly from the top of said frame at a slight angle for a short distance from the top, then extending downwardly at a sharp angle and outwardly at a very slight angle to a point opposite a point near the base of said frame, then curving bulbously back to the mounting at the base of the frame so as to form a wall, capable of holding a quantity of water, said frame with mounted bubble being capable of being attached to the framework of a window of a building means for supporting shelving in said garden window independent of the latter comprising vertically extending rods supporting said shelving and provided with means at the rod ends for securement to said framework.

2. A garden window according to claim 1 having a venting means mounted on the frame.

3. A garden window according to claim 1 in which the transparent, contour-distorted plastic bubble is made from polymethyl methacrylate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,074,872 3/ 1937 Thorin 474O 2,156,746 5/1939 Steinmetz 4740 2,703,0 3/1955 Kiefer 52200 2,723,824 11/1955 Martin 248243 ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

P. A. RAZZANO, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A GARDEN WINDOW COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FRAME, A TRANSPARENT, CONTOUR-DISTORTED PLASTIC BUBBLE MOUNTED ON ONE SIDE OF SAID FRAME WHICH SEALS THE FRAME SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY ON THE SIDE ON WHICH IT IS MOUNTED, SAID DISTORTED BUBBLE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOP OF SAID FRAME AT A SLIGHT ANGLE FOR A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE TOP, THEN EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AT A SHARP ANGLE AND OUTWARDLY AT A VERY SLIGHT ANGLE TO A POINT OPPOSITE A POINT NEAR THE BASE OF SAID FRAME, THEN CURVING BULBOUSLY BACK TO THE 